Sunny (but cold) Stamford

I've been on a little outing to Stamford, which is just over 20 miles away from home today, with our friendly coach company. I should have been going with a friend but she was in pain from a shoulder problem this morning so decided not to go.

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As it turned out to be a lovely sunny morning I thought I would have a wander round the areas away from the centre before heading for the shops.

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This lovely view is from an area called "The Meadows" towards the town. Not in the photograph because the light was wrong are the expansive meadows which give the area its name.

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This is one of many lovely old streets in this beautiful town where many buildings are built in sandstone. I saw several examples of the bow fronted building too.

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This is the very elegant Rutland Terrace on the western outskirts of the town and the photograph below shows a very stylish column with The Bastion tower in the background which is the best surviving fragment of the 13th century defensive walls.

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I was struck by the detailed and beautiful carvings in the pillar at the end of Rutland Terrace.

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A closer view of The Bastion tower.

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This building is called Hopkins Hospital and was built as an Almshouse for poor married couples in the 1770's. The gargoyle and the small window fragment above it are thought to have come from the Austin Priory which formerly stood opposite. You may be able to see the Coat of Arms for Stamford below the gargoyle.

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This street, heading back into the town, has featured in several television dramas (Middlemarch and Pride and Prejudice have both used Stamford as backdrops) and has some beautiful buildings.

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I know that many of you like to see doorways and this unusual entrance is at All Saints Church. It may date from before the 15th century.

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I had to chuckle at this notice on St Mary's Church. It's dated June 1819. I wonder if the church is now respoonsible for the upkeep of the road within this thirteen foot space? They may be wishing today that their ownership wasn't so obviously displayed! Funnily enough on the other corner of the building the church only lays claim to seven feet of ground!

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This was actually the main reason for the coach coming to Stamford, the weekly street market. This is Broad Street where bulls were run until the 18th century. The tower in the distance on the right hand side is part of Brownes' Hospital which are actually more mediaeval Almshouses for the elderly poor and which are still used as such today. It's a beautiful building which looks more like a church.

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On the way back to the bus station is this new sculpture. It is a modern version of the Eleanor Cross and has caused a lot of controversy within the town. The sculpture is covered in roses and is very striking. Pupils at the local secondary school have written haiku poems and the words have been cast in bronze discs which are set into the surrounding benches and on the ground.

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This and the two photos below show some of the details of this amazing sculpture.
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You should be able to click on the photos above and below and read the words.

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And finally, some rather more natural sculpture seen in Stamford today.

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I am now exhausted so I'm off for some dinner! Oh, before I forget, we have heating! Yay!

Recycling

We're back with the saga of waiting in for heating engineers who don't turn up so we're still without central heating tonight. They are now promising to come tomorrow. We shall see!

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Anyway, while I was waiting in for non-existent workmen I thought I would have another go at the fabric 'baskets'. Some time ago I was given some v - e - r - y wide legged jeans through the recycling group Freecycle and they have been waiting for me to find some inspiration or cut them up for crazy patchwork.

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When I got the jeans out I was pleased to find they had a big pocket on the leg so I decided to incorporate that into the basket. This is the result~

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I've lined the jeans with the same vilene-type stiffener I lined a bookwrap with a while ago but this time I was too impatient to paint it. Instead of making a full decorative lining I have just trimmed the inside top edge with a ribbon.

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I've cut a piece of mountboard to fit in the bottom to make it stand up and its now the perfect home for my current magazines and my workbook. I've still got the other jeans leg to use and I'm thinking of making that into a sewing/project bag so that I can take advantage of the side pocket. I can see all sorts of uses for these baskets and they look much better than tumbling piles of papers! I've also learned to take the toolbox off my machine so that you can sew freely around a tube shape. Thank you again Moogsmum!! :o) Ooooh! I nearly forgot! The brooch was a present from my very good friend which she made herself.

It's All Happening!

When 2009 started I wasn't quite sure what I was going to be doing creatively through the year but I did intend to work my way through some of the exercises in "Finding Your Own Visual Language". I did feel a bit lost without the Take It Further Challenge to spur me on this year as I enjoyed working on that in 2008 and I thought it was time to try and develop some design skills.

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I think I mentioned before that I joined the Quilters Guild at the end of last year and I've also joined the specialist group within that of Contemporary Quilters. Well, I now have to state publicly, so that I can't back out, that I have signed up for Contemporary Quilt Journal Quilts challenge. In a similar way to Take it Further I now have to produce a Quilt every month in the format 12" x 6" and every 4 months I have to submit images and details of the quilts, so there are deadlines! I have a lengthy list of techniques I want to explore or experiment further with and this is at least, a starting point for the quilts. I just have to decide whether I want to work to a theme or trust that the experiments will result in useable quilts. The remit for the quilts is very open so there is a lot of freedom both in the content and presentation, but it may be easier to have a theme in case inspiration is fleeting. Hopefully I will also be able to use FinYoOwVisLan alongside this quilting challenge and my design skills should grow too. Fingers crossed! Oh, by the way, I'm relying on you all to give me a regular kick to make sure I'm keeping up with the quilting! thank you :o))

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On the subject of challenges, I have finally got round to joining in a swap at MixedMediaATC_UK this month. We are having a 2 for 2 book page swap and this month's theme is Flowers.

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I used some of the fabric I had previously monoprinted (on the left) and dyed (on the right). The piece on the left has had lace and a pale organza machined onto it and then cut and frayed. Beads have been added as an embellishment. The piece on the right was actually my practice fabric from the fabric swap which I stamped and stencilled on in vaguely flower looking designs. I've then machined organza on top, trapping some gold bridal lace, and distressed it with the heat gun. Finally I've added just a few beads. The pages have been left unfinished on the edge so that eventually, when more swaps have been done, they can be edged by the recipient and made into a book.

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Finally today can I commend to you the Little Gems tombola which will be held at the Festival of Quilts in August? People are being asked to make an A4 sized quilt which will be raffled via a tombola to raise money for the Quilt Museum in York. There are no restrictions as to material and you don't need to have a hanging sleeve. If you click on the link you can read all the details. so if you've ever fancied having a go at an art quilt or a traditional quilt this could be a good place to start. That's another one for my list too!

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Can you stand a bit of not so good news? It's all right, it's not that bad..........just the pesky heating! We were woken up at 6 o'clock this morning by a very noisy grinding pump which I leapt out of bed to switch off, so we are once again relying on little heaters and waiting for the engineer to call! Grrrrrr!!! My DH got very confused and thought it was time to get up. I had to head him off before he legged it to the bathroom to get ready for work! Bless!

Thank You to Moogsmum

Look what I made today! I wanted something to hold my pens, pastels, watercolour crayons and stuff so that I can work in my sketchbook more in the evenings and saw some bags that Lesley had made. She referred me back to a tutorial she had done some time ago and voila! My prototype basket! Excuse the wobbly top - it's my deliberate error, I should have top-stitched but I forgot. This went together surprisingly easy, the longest part was cutting everything out. I shall definitely be making some more to hold my magazines in the hope that it will make my lounge look a bit more stylish - they've got to look better than piles of magazines everywhere! (The fabric is upholstery or curtain fabric that I bought at the local Scrapstore).

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Thank you Lesley both for the inspiration and the tutorial. If I can make these anyone can!

A little shopping and meeting friends

I thought I should show you the little bit of shopping I did in Nottingham when I met Guzzisue. Sue took me to The Bead Shop just off the City Square and, what do you know? They were having a sale! Yay! I didn't go too mad but I did buy some of this unusual paper which, as you can see, has a lovely crinkly texture and which I'm sure I will be able to stitch. I bought a metre of each colour at only 70p each, not bad eh? I can see some of it as a foreground in a seascape.

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As usual I couldn't resist turquoise and bought this bead selection and some lovely charms to keep me busy.

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Now for today! Look who I met up with!

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The very lovely and talented Gina Ferrari (on the left) and the very friendly Angela of Art and Stitch. Gina was demonstrating for Art and Stitch at their official opening day and had brought along a lot of her works and sketchbooks, including the famous Sainsbury's carrier bag dress. It was interesting to see the preparatory work that Gina had done before producing the final pieces. Other people's workbooks are always fascinating, aren't they?

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Unfortunately we arrived too late to see the dress being modelled by a young student.

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Not only was it lovely to see Gina again but we were also able to ask questions and be shown Gina's methods so we had quick lessons in machining on metal (as seen on Gina's blog this week), machining with heavier weight threads in the bobbin, working with tyvek, machining on tapestry canvas and tassel making (very useful if you're thinking of doing a bit of belly dancing!).

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The ladies at Art and Stitch were very welcoming and Angela's lovely husband, Neil, sporting a very sassy waistcoat, was on hand to tidy up ;o) (sorry Neil!). I have signed up to do a Machine Embroidery workshop at Art and Stitch with Gina in June and Neil has even offered to provide transport for me from the station. How's that for service? Now, if I can just remember what photograph it was I said I would send to Gina it will have been a perfect day!........... What was that? Shopping? Nooooooo, I didn't do any shopping!!

Celebration

If you're feeling a little low have a look at this wonderful video of quilters enjoying themselves in South Africa (thanks to Hilary Gooding of the Quilters Guild for flagging it up). You'll need your sound on for the best bit.

City and sunshine

As well as today being an historically auspicious day it has been a day of friendship. I went across to Nottingham, just a half hour train ride from my home town, to meet up with Sue, otherwise known as Guzzisue (Travel Fibre and Thread). We had a really lovely time with Sue giving me a bit of a tour of the city. As you can see from the collage above we managed to pack quite a lot into our day and we were blessed with sunshine (and a biting wind!). It was lovely to be out on such a bright day and to be shown Nottingham by a local.

Sky Mirror

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Sue took me to see this amazing Sky Mirror which stands outside the Nottingham Playhouse and is the work of Anish Kapoor. It was an ideal day to see the sculpture which I believe is made of stainless steel. My DH would love to see this too, I shall have to bring him across before too long.

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I took the close up above with a view to exploring the textures in the reflections. I'm sure it would look so much different in the Spring and Summer when the trees are in leaf.

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Above, the old and the new.

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Aren't these reflected lines on the ground fascinating? Another one for Photoshop!

City Hero

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Just off the City Square in Nottingham is the newly unveiled statue of Brian Clough, the legendary manager of Nottingham Forest Football Club who died in 2004. The statue was sculpted by Les Johnson and is an excellent likeness of the famous manager, going on what I know of him from the media. Around the base of the statue are three quotes from Cloughy for which he was also legendary! Unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph them.

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This unusual plaque, about three feet or more long, is set into a stone bench in a small square in Nottingham. (I had to stand on the bench (!) to get the photograph, don't tell anyone!) There were several more plaques set in other benches but unfortunately nothing to tell us anything about the artist.

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Sue and I had a really enjoyable time strolling in the sunshine and we also managed a little shopping, in the interest of creativity, at the bead shop and a visit to the Nottingham Society of Artists which was holding an exhibition by Geoff Grant who paints large abstract acrylics inspired by Scandinavia. Hopefully, while she's still off work with her broken arm, Sue will be popping over to Grantham for the guided tour with me. I shall have to brush up on my local sights! Thank you, Sue, for a lovely time and yes, mission accomplished in Marks and Spencer!

Hope and History

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I have just watched Barack Obama sworn in on the television along with millions of people around the world, no doubt. A truly historical moment. This man carries a weight of hope and expectation on his shoulders. May that hope for a positive future be realised with unity and peace for everyone. And may this man and his advisors find the strength and wisdom they need for their task.

Footprints

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Well, foot moulds really! After I had done the serious ironing (you know, the boring stuff....) this morning I used the ironing board to have a play with my new shoes and some plasticine. I read on someone's blog that you can use plasticine to make moulds which can then be lined with toilet tissue to make embellishments. I have a feeling that I can store these plasticine moulds in the freezer for future use, or am I completely mad? We'll soon find out if the moulds harden and crack up.

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This is the plasticine covered in torn up toilet tissue. I painted each mould with some liquid soap before I started adding the toilet tissue layers in the hope that this will ease the lifting off process. Then I layered torn tissue with watered down PVA glue in several layers until I felt it was thick enough. Now I have to wait for it all to dry. I have peeled the smallest one away but it was still a bit soggy so I am going to be more patient with the remaining moulds and will probably peel them off tomorrow.

Shiva and Tyvek

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I had a lovely play with Markal or Shiva sticks rubbed over cotton pulled as tight as I could over the soles. These are just samples and I will be painting the fabric to see what happens there.

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I don't think I'm going to be able to wear these "space age" sandals, I can see all sorts of possibilities with these patterns! I shall be far too busy playing to wear them.

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This final photo is tyvek which I moulded over the soles with a hot iron (nearly forgot the baking parchment!). The flowery soles didn't work at all well but the swirly ones are wonderful. All I need to do now is settle down with some paints and the moulds I made with Form-a-Foam and play some more. That won't be before Wednesday though as I am going to Nottingham tomorrow to meet Guzzisue of Travel Fibre and Thread. (Hmm, maybe sometime I should go round with the duster too? Not a lot of that been going on chez mixed media in quite a while!)